Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

The General Court (GC) has issued its first-ever ruling on the distinctiveness of a trademark applied to virtual goods. The decision T11163/23 dated 11 December 2024 – “Glashütte ORIGINAL”  concerned the application for the following sign:

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Geographical Indications, also known as GIs, are forms of intellectual property protection designed to protect indications associated with a location. GIs provide consumers accurate information regarding the origin of a product, as well as promote local production and enhance competitiveness. With its nearly 3,400 registered geographical indications, the European Union has been traditionally the forerunner in the field. Germany is well-known for its beers, but what else comes from Germany? In the map below is elaborated well-known GIs of Germany based on their origin.​

 

Source: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture website.

 

This year, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) celebrates its 140th anniversary as an authority. During its long journey it has adapted to many changes and through its constant evolvement it has gained its place as number one of the national IP offices in the Europe.

 

(Source:DPMA website

 

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The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, better known as UDRP, offers a sustainable alternative for litigation by means of standardized dispute resolution for cybersquatting cases. In order to enhance predictability and legal security, in May 2017 WIPO released its “WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0” to give an insight into WPO´s Panel consensual views.

 

 

Innovation is one of the key factors driving economic growth and development.

This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the well-known Global Innovation Index (GII), which gives a fresh view to the measuring of innovation worldwide.

 

 

 The GII ranks innovation capabilities and results of world economies. It was first introduced by INSEAD in 2007, and today it is co-published with Cornell University and the WIPO, in collaboration with the 2017 GII Knowledge Partners who, by means of analytics and case studies contribute to the elaboration of GII.

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We have often talked about the correlation between a brand and intellectual property. In the simplest of terms, one can hardly go without the other. Recognizing the importance of brands for the economy, Interbrand, a global consultancy, started publishing their annual Interbrand Breakthrough Brands list. The 2017 one has been made available recently and can be found here.

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On 1 June 2017, WIPO introduced a new system of tracking international trademark applications: and in comes the Madrid Monitor!

 

 

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Every quarter WIPO updates IP professionals with all novelties in the Madrid System.  Published on 18 April 2017, this year´s first newsletter starts with the recollection of WIPO´s record-breaking 2016 and the statistics behind it (for our summary, click here).

Marques needs little introduction in the IP community. It is a European association, aiming to educate and help brand and trademark owners to navigate through the demands of the global economy. One of the methods of achieving their goal is through conferences, meetings, and events. Always focusing on a currently problematic topic, the latest series of lectures was on industrial designs, titled “Mastering the Hague Agreement: from Asia to the USA, through the EU”. Additional focus was put on the 2014/2015 newcomers to the Hague family, namely South Korea, Japan and the US.

On 25 April 2017 it was Munich´s IP practitioners’ turn to listen to the amazing, concentrated presentations delivered by Gregoire Bisson, WIPO´s The Hague Registry Brands and Designs Sector Director, and Oliver Nilgen, a member of the Marques Designs Team.

You probably thought that the Adidas saga reached its end with last year´s European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling (case C396/15 P, summary). As it seems, the reality is different. In fact, with the latest EUIPO decisions on the three stripes, in all likelihood, we are at yet another beginning.

Do you know what is the link between the invention of the telephone and intellectual property? We all know Alexander Graham Bell as the one responsible for creating this groundbreaking item. However, evidence shows that the actual inventor was an Italian, Antonio Meucci. You may wonder, what kind of an upper-hand did Bell have over Meucci? The answer is: a patent, which Meucci could not afford. One 15$ patent application changed the course of history, with Meucci falling into oblivion, and Bell enjoying all the laurels.